His Majesty’s Theatre
Venue Information
- How to book (Phone)
- 0203 925 2998
- [email protected]
- Guide dogs
- Access dogs are allowed inside the auditorium. Staff can also dog-sit for two dogs per performance in the Manager’s office.
- Wheelchairs
- Please ask a member of staff in the Foyer to open the second side EXIT door on Charles II Street. There is a slight slope to the rear right Stalls. 4 spaces for wheelchair users in row S next to S12. Transfer seating available to any aisle seat in the Stalls. An usher will be assigned to disabled theatregoers, but each wheelchair user must bring a non-disabled companion.
- Sound amplification
- Infra-red System with 10 headsets available. Headsets can be collected from the cloakroom, or ask a member of staff for one. You will be asked to sign a receipt.
- Audio description
- Level access into the foyer through the centre doors and through 2 sets of swing doors. Box Office counter on the right-hand side. Staircases have handrails on both sides and some steps are highlighted. Stalls are 18 steps down from the foyer, Royal Circle up 32, Grand Circle up 62 and Balcony up 89. 2 steep steps between rows in the Circles. Customers with mobility problems are advised to book stalls seats.
- Street to foyer
- Ramp
- Foyer to seat
- 22 down and 18 up to Stalls, 32 to Royal Circle, 62 to Grand Circle, 89 to Balcony
- Level access
- Stalls from Charles II St
- Bars
- 3 licensed bars. 22 steps down to the Stalls bar, 32 to the Royal Circle bar and 62 to the Grand Circle bar. All have moveable seats. Drinks may be brought to disabled customers in the auditorium in plastic cups.
- Toilets
- Mens and Womens throughout. There is an accessible toilet located on the left inside entrance on Charles II Street.
- Parking
-
Meters on Charles II Street and in St James’s Square. Single yellow lines in the Haymarket. Taxi rank Lower Regent Street. Drop-off and pick-up outside the theatre.
- Air conditioning
- Yes
- Accepts Theatre Tokens
- Yes
Since 1705 there have been four theatres on the site where His Majesty’s Theatre now stands. Excluding the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, this site has been associated with a playhouse longer than any other theatre in London. The original theatre situated there was built in 1705. The current building was built by the famous Actor-Manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and was opened in 1897. The venue currently seats over 1,200 people.
The name of the theatre changes with the sex of the British Monarch. It became the King’s Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I and was then renamed Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1837. The theatre last changed its name in 1952 following Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne following the death of her father George VI.
The original design of the current theatre company came about as the Crown Estate which owns the site, then known as The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Venues, wanted to redevelop the outdated theatre. It was designed as part of a pair with the Carlton Hotel, which has since been redeveloped.
The French Renaissance design of the theatre is much admired today for its successful imitation of the style. The theatre has played host to several record-setting productions including its current occupant The Phantom Of The Opera. The musical opened in 1986 and is the second longest-running musical in West End history.